When many marketing campaigns and rebrands have become predictable, some brands are still surprising consumers with creative collaborations and playful campaigns. Check out the latest unexpected marketing strategies in our Marketing Must Reads.

Hostess Launches Playful Rebrand

Last week, Hostess rolled out the first rebrand for its packaged goods products in more than 18 years. The rebrand is more like a subtle refresh; Hostess is keeping its longstanding red and royal blue color scheme but chose a more playful font and adopted a more simple, flat design. The brand also added a border around their logo on product packaging that resembles a cloud to help convey the “light and airy” quality of Hostess snacks.

Hostess’ brand refresh stands in contrast to many other recent logo updates that have opted for minimalist designs with fewer colors. Instead, they chose to add more whimsy and playfulness to their branding. According to Hostess executives, the new design will modernize the brand, differentiate their products, and excite their audiences, which reportedly prefer the new logo over the old design two to one. Check out the Hostess brand refresh: https://www.fastcompany.com/91244962/hostess-rebrand

Duolingo Enters the Squid Game

Later this month, Netflix will release the second season of Squid Game, a South Korean thriller-horror series that became their most watched program of all time. In preparation for the premiere, Netflix teamed up with Duolingo to help teach viewers how to speak Korean. To promote the collaboration, the two companies created a TikTok filter that encourages users to correctly pronounce Korean phrases to win Squid Game’s famous Red Light, Green Light game.

In 2021, when the first season of Squid Game was released, Duolingo unexpectedly saw a 40% jump in users seeking Korean lessons. The new collaboration hopes to encourage even more viewers to engage with the show’s content and Duolingo’s language lessons by teaching them to speak more than 40 words and phrases commonly said during the series. Read more about the Netflix and Duolingo’s strategy: https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/10/duolingo-teams-up-with-netflix-to-help-squid-game-fans-learn-korean/

Oatly Updates Santa’s Milk and Cookies

Santa’s joining in on the oat milk craze, according to Swedish brand Oatly. In a new ad airing on social media and in cinemas, Oatly documents 31 professional Santas taste testing traditional milk and cookies against their oat milk and croquembouche, a French Christmas dessert. (Spoiler alert: all but one Santa chooses the oat milk and croquembouche.) It’s a lighthearted campaign that continues Oatly’s trend of poking fun at traditional dairy, declaring their “unbiased results” show that 96.77% of Santas prefer their product.

In addition to the documentary-style video, Oatly is also supporting their campaign with out-of-home ads running in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The outdoor spots showcase traditional Santa images with the milk and cookies very obviously replaced with oat milk and croquembouche. Read more about Oatly’s taste test and ongoing marketing success: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/oatly-santa-taste-test-milk-cookies-holiday-campaign/735252/

Walmart Enters the Gilmore Girls World

Who would’ve thought Walmart would be the one to inspire the next Gilmore Girls reunion? In a new ad highlighting the convenience of their Walmart+ delivery service, Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson revive their Gilmore Girls roles as Lorelai and Luke. When Lorelai comes in to Luke’s diner to ask for yet another cup of coffee, Luke instead presents her with a Walmart package – with a new Keurig machine wrapped inside. The spot also features Sean Gunn revisiting his role as Kirk, the town handyman who naturally serves as Walmart+ delivery person.

The Gilmore Girls-inspired ad is part of Walmart’s ongoing holiday campaign that brings together several famous duos from favorite movies and television shows, including SpongeBob & Patrick and the Crazy Rich Asians cast. Walmart creative directors describe the campaign as an opportunity to “build emotional connections” between their brand and consumers via their favorite pop culture moments. Watch the Gilmore Girls ad and learn more: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/walmart-retail-holiday-marketing-campaigns-2024/730274/